REVIEW: You Are the Reason by Renae Kaye

Title: You Are the ReasonSeries: The Tav #2Author: Renae KayeGenre: MM RomanceGoodreads

My Rating:

_______________________________________________________________Blurb

Davo’s a pretty average guy. He has a decent job, owns his own home, and spends his weekends at the pub. He fully accepts that he’s gay, but doesn’t want to be one of those gays, who are femme and girly. He likes football and other masculine pursuits, and firmly avoids anything that could be seen as femme—including relationships that last beyond fifteen minutes.

Then Davo’s friend and gay idol not only gets a boyfriend, but also adopts a baby girl. Davo is seriously spooked and scuttles down to the pub in fright. That’s where he meets Lee, who is cute from her cherry-red hair, to her pretty little dress and pointy red shoes. Davo is charmed—but how is that possible? He’s gay. Isn’t he? Then Lee tells him he’s actually a guy—he just likes to wear women’s dresses occasionally. Thoroughly confused about an attraction that’s out of character for him, Davo begins the long journey to where he can accept himself without caring what everyone else thinks.______________________________________________________________________

My Review

I started to read this one on a long, boring trip, without checking it on GR, and didn’t know it was the second book in the series. Not that it matters anyway, it is totally enjoyable as a stand-alone.

So at 6% I had a suspicion about Lee that proved to be right. I was so proud of myself that I figured it out – am I a genius or what? Later I saw it is said in the blurb…

So the story…

Davo’s life was perfect. He had a great job, nice home, and awesome friends. Blissfully single, he didn’t do relationships, only casual hook-ups that didn’t require last names. Sometimes not even first names. Davo was extremely happy with his life.

Openly gay, but not one of “those gays”, Dave despised anything feminine, soft, and was disgusted by pink.

So his life was perfect, or so he thought. But then he met Lee.

I tried to ignore those cherry red lips that I wanted to taste. I wanted to fluff her impossibly red hair. I wanted to make her laugh. I wanted to lean in and smell her. I wanted her.
It scared me shitless.

His attraction to Lee mixes him up, makes him scared and confused. When Lee admits he is actually a guy, it doesn’t really lessen Dave’s confusion. Yes, he is relieved he is not straight after all, but he still doesn’t understand how he could be attracted to someone who is so not his type? Who is delicate, feminine, plus likes to wear make-up and women’s dresses sometimes.

But Dave learns really quickly, and is trying really hard – to accept Lee and to accept himself. Soon Davo becomes a new man. No, not a new man, he gets his real self back. He not simply accepts Lee’s feminine ways, but he is not embarrassed any more to admit that he genuinely likes it.

So all the ponies are for Dave, because he deserves it.

You Are the Reason is a cute, funny, and steamy self-rediscovery story.

He was mine. He was mine to love and cherish, and that was a goddamn big responsibility. Loving him was something I never wanted to fail at, because there had never been anyone more special in my life.